Cooling apparatus of kimchi refrigerator and method therefor

ABSTRACT

A cooling apparatus of a kimchi refrigerator having a storage compartment includes a detector for detecting whether a door is opened or not; a timer for performing to count an opening time of a door when it is detected that the door is opened; a heat exchanger installed in the door for cooling down warm air flown into an upper part of the storage compartment to discharge the cooled air into the storage compartment; and a controller for calculating a driving time during which the heat exchanger is driven and providing a cooling control signal to the heart exchanger pursuant to the driving time when it is detected that the door is closed by the detector.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a kimchi refrigerator, and more specifically, to a cooling apparatus of a kimchi refrigerator and a cooling method therefor, capable of rapidly cooling warm air flown into an upper part of a storage compartment when a door of the kimchi refrigerator is opened.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, in order to store frozen food and cold storage food or fermented food (for example, kimchi and the like), there are needed respective storages to store them at proper temperatures. For the purpose of it, a refrigerator has a frozen chamber and a cool chamber, which is mainly used.

Meanwhile, in the case that the cold storage foods and the fermented foods are together stored in the cool chamber of the refrigerator, there occurs a powerful stink in the cool chamber due to the fermentation of the fermented food and also the powerful stink penetrates into other cold storage food, thus changing native smell of the cold storage food. Further, as the cold storage food and the fermented food stored in the cold chamber increases in their volume, it is needed to store voluminous fermented food (for example, kimchi) in a separated storage.

Further, the kimchi becomes delicious when it is stored in a storage container (for example, kimchi pot) buried into the ground to ripe properly as traditional method in Korea.

However, due to the restriction of residence environment such as an apartment house, a tenement house and the like, it is not easy to bury such a storage container into the ground and to store it in the residence hall, too.

Recently, in order to solve such a problem, a study has been made on a kimchi refrigerator which is not a general refrigerator but a separate refrigerator used to store kimchi, the kimchi refrigerator commonly providing a storage compartment with refrigerant compressed in a compressor by controlling a step motor.

Further, according to an opening scheme of a door in the kimchi refrigerator, the kimchi refrigerator is classified into a cover type refrigerator whose door is attached in an upper part thereof using a hinge or the like, a drawer type refrigerator whose door is formed of a drawer, and a combination type refrigerator in which the cover type and the drawer type are mixed.

Further, in the case of the cover type refrigerator, the door has a cooling fan to flow cooling air of the storage compartment from an upper part to a lower portion.

However, such a kimchi refrigerator in the art has a problem in that, in order to lower a temperature of warm external air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment when the door is opened, the compressor should be driven. Therefore, the refrigerator efficiency is reduced since much power is consumed as the compressor is driven.

Further, there occurs a problem in that the warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment is compulsorily circulated into a lower portion of the storage compartment by the cooling fan before the warm air is converted into cold air whose temperature is properly predetermined, thus deteriorating the state of the stored goods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a cooling apparatus of a kimchi refrigerator and a cooling method therefor, capable of cooling down warm air flown into an upper part of a storage compartment of the Kimchi refrigerator when the door is opened and then discharging the cooled air into the storage compartment.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus of a Kimchi refrigerator having a storage compartment, comprising: a detector for detecting whether a door is opened or not; a timer for performing to count an opening time of a door when it is detected that the door is opened; a heat exchanger installed in the door for cooling down warm air flown into an upper part of the storage compartment to discharge the cooled air into the storage compartment; and a controller for calculating a driving time during which the heat exchanger is driven and providing a cooling control signal to the heart exchanger pursuant to the driving time when it is detected that the door is closed by the detector.

According to a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus of a kimchi refrigerator, comprising: a detector for detecting whether a door is opened or not; a temperature sensor for continuously detecting a current temperature in the upper part of the storage compartment when it is detected that the door is opened; a heat exchanger installed in the door for cooling down warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment to discharge the cooled air into the storage compartment; and a controller for controlling the heat exchanger to drive until the current temperature reach a predetermined reference temperature in the storage compartment when it is detected that the door is closed by the detector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a kimchi refrigerator employing a cooling apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a cooling apparatus employed in the kimchi refrigerator in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a cooling method in accordance with the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of a cooling apparatus employed in the kimchi refrigerator in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a cooling method in accordance with the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that they can be readily implemented by those skilled in the art.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a kimchi refrigerator employing a cooling apparatus in accordance with the present invention, and FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the cooling apparatus employed in the kimchi refrigerator.

As shown, the kimchi refrigerator includes a main body 100 and a cover type door 160 installed in an upper part of the main body 100 using a hinge (not shown). The main body 100 includes a compressor 110 to compress refrigerant, a condenser 120 in which a heat exchange of the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 110 is performed, a cooling fan 130 with which a heat exchange of the refrigerant passing through the condenser 120 is performed, and an evaporator 140 installed on a storage compartment 150, in which the refrigerant heat-exchanged in the condenser 120 is vaporized while it passes through an expansion valve (not shown), and cooled by performing a heat exchange with ambient air.

The cover type door 160 has a cooling apparatus incorporated therein, which includes a door opening detector 210, a timer 220, a heat changer 300, 170 and 171, and a controller 200.

The door opening detector 210 is installed in the door 160 and detects whether the door 160 is opened or not to produce a door opening signal or a door closing signal. The door opening signal represents the opening of the door while the door closing signal represents the closing of the door, and these signals are provided to the controller 200. Alternatively, the door opening detector 210 may be installed in the main body 100.

In the case that the door opening signal is generated from the door opening detector 210, the timer 220 starts to count an opening time of the door until the door is closed, under the control of the controller 200. The counted total opening time is provided to the controller 200.

The heat changer, installed in the door 160, serves to cool down warm air flown into an upper part of the storage compartment 150 by performing heat exchange. The heat changer has a cooler 300, a cooling fan driver 170 and a cooling fan 171. The cooler 300, installed in the door 160, serves to lower down warm air flown by the cooling fan 171. Such a cooler 300 preferably uses a thermoelectric element.

In the present embodiment, the thermoelectric element includes a peltier device which utilizes the peltier effect in which a heat absorption (or generation) is caused by electric current is used. The peltier effect is a phenomenon where when two kinds of metal are connected in their ends and electric current flows therethrough, one end performs an exothermic reaction and the other performs an endothermic reaction, according to a direction of the electric current.

The cooling fan driver 170, in response to a cooling control signal from the controller 200, drives the cooling fan 171 to suck the warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment 150 through an air suction inlet 180 and discharge the air that is heat-exchanged by the cooler 300 into the upper part of the kimchi refrigerator 100 through a discharge outlet 190 so that a circular path of air flow is formed.

The air suction inlet 180 is formed in a predetermined position, e.g., below the cooling fan 171, on a bottom of the door 160. The discharge outlet 190 is formed in a predetermined position on a bottom of the door 160 to communicate with the storage compartment 150.

The controller 200 controls overall operations of the kimchi refrigerator. Moreover, the controller 200, in response to the door opening signal from the door opening detector 210, causes the timer 220 to count the opening time of the door 160 and calculates a driving time on a based of the opening time of the door. Then the controller 200 issues the cooling control signal to the heat exchanger to drive it for the driving time during which the heat exchanger is driven to cool down the warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment 150 and discharge a cooled air into the storage compartment 150.

According to the present invention, the driving time may be calculated by: dividing the opening time as sections in each predetermined time interval, e.g., about 10 seconds and correspondingly assigning an appropriate driving time to each divided section. Each driving time refers to a period of time necessary to drive the heat exchanger to cool down the warm air to a level of a storage temperature of the storage compartment 150.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the warm air can be cooled by permitting the warm air through the thermoelectric device to be cooled through an endothermic reaction using the electric current applied to the thermoelectric element according to the cooling control signal output from the controller 200 and performing the heat exchange. Further, a conversion into the exothermic reaction can be obtained according to a direction of the electric current.

Further, it is also possible to control the amount of the endothermic reaction or exothermic reaction according to an electric current capacity applied to the thermoelectric element, so that the amount of the endothermic reaction or exothermic reaction can be controlled by adding an additional signal to increase the electric current capacity to the cooling control signal output from the controller 200 or changing an applied time of the cooling control signal and then changing the electric current capacity applied to the thermoelectric device.

Further, it is well known that those skilled in the art may change the thermoelectric device with a constituent with that cooling air can be generated.

Alternatively, the cooler 300 may include a cold storage medium to store the cooling air. Such a cold storage medium serves to perform a heat exchange of the air flown from the cooling air sucking inlet 180 so as to be cooled. That is, under the control of the controller 200, as the cooling fan 171 is driven, the air in the storage compartment 150 is flown into the door 160 through the cooling air sucking inlet 180, and the flown air is heat exchanged with the cold storage medium. Unlike the cooler 300, the cold storage medium keeps the same temperature as the storage temperature of the storage compartment 150. For the sake of that, the cold storage medium receives cooling air from the storage compartment 150 through the cooling fan 171, keeping it at a constant temperature. Accordingly, the warm air flown into the storage compartment 150 after having been opened the door 160 is flown into the door 160 by the cooling fan 171, and is converted into the cooling air by performing a heat exchange with the cold storage medium which keeps the same temperature as the storage temperature of the storage compartment 150.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a cooling method of the cooling apparatus in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention.

First of all, the controller 200 determines whether the door 160 of the kimchi refrigerator is opened or not through the use of the door opening detector 210 (S100). If positive, under the control of the controller 200, an opening time of the door begins to be counted by the timer 220 (S110). However, if negative, a control process returns to the step S100.

During counting the opening time of the door, it is determined by the controller 200 whether a door closing signal is generated from the door opening detector 210 (S120).

If it is determined that the door is closed in the step S120, then the controller 200 forces to stop the counting of the door opening time and calculates a total opening time from the time of opening of the door to the time of the closing of the door (S130).

Thereafter, the controller 200 calculates a driving time of the heat exchanger on a basis of the counted total opening time calculated in the step S130 (S140).

In the step S150, a cooling control signal from the controller 200 is provided to the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the cooling fan 171 of the heat exchanger is driven to suck the warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment of the kimchi refrigerator through the cooling air suction inlet 180, and the sucked warm air is heat exchanged while it is passing through the cooler 300 and discharged into the storage compartment 150 through the cooling air discharge outlet 190.

Subsequently, the controller 200 continuously checks whether the driving time of the heat exchanger is over or not in order to determine a driving termination of the heat exchanger while performing the step S150 (S160). In case that the driving time of the heat exchanger does not exceed, the control process returns to the step S150.

However, in the case that the driving time is over in the step S160, a control signal to terminate the driving of the heat exchanger is issued to the heat exchanger, that is, the cooling fan driver 170 and the cooler 300 (S170), whereby the control process is completed.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of a cooling apparatus employed in the kimchi refrigerator in accordance with the present invention.

The second embodiment of the cooling apparatus is also incorporated in the cover type door 160 in an upper part of the kimchi refrigerator as in the first embodiment of the present invention.

The cooling apparatus includes a door opening detector 210, a temperature sensor 230, a cooler 300, a cooling fan driver 170 and a cooling fan 171, and a controller 200.

The cooling apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention is substantially identical with that of the first embodiment, except that the timer is substituted with the temperature sensor, which will be fully discussed as below. Therefore, the components having the same reference numerals in the second embodiment as those in the first embodiment will not be fully discussed for the sake of a simple explanation.

The temperature sensor 230, installed in the storage compartment 150, detects a current temperature in the upper part of the storage compartment 150 caused by the flown warm air when the door 160 is opened. The detected current temperature is provided to the controller 200.

The controller 200 controls overall operations of the kimchi refrigerator. Moreover, the controller 200 has a predetermined reference temperature maintaining the, storage compartment 150 to a storage temperature thereof.

Then, the controller 200, when receiving a door closing signal from the door opening detector 210, issues a cooling control signal to the cooler 300 and the cooling fan driver 170 in order to cool down the warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment 150.

That is, the controller 200 continuously detects through the temperature sensor 230 the current temperature in the storage compartment 150 being changed by the warm air flown when the door 160 is opened, and then provides the cooling control signal to the heat exchanger when the door 160 is closed until the current temperature reaches the reference temperature.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a cooling method in accordance with the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4.

First of all, the controller 200 detects whether the door 160 of the kimchi refrigerator is opened or not (S200) through the use of the door opening detector 210.

If it is detected that the door is open, a control process goes to step S210 where a current temperature raised warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment 150 when the door 160 is open is detected by the temperature sensor 230.

If it is detected that the door 160 does not open, however, the control process returns to the step S200.

During detecting the current temperature, in the step S220, it is detected whether the door closing signal is generated from the door opening detector 210.

If positive, the control process goes to step S230; however, if negative, the control process returns to the step S220.

In the step S230, the controller 200 provides a cooling control signal to the heat exchanger for driving it if the controller 200 detects that the door 160 is closed by checking the door closing signal from the door closing detector 210 at present.

Thereafter, pursuant to the cooling control signal provided from the controller 200, the cooling fan 171 is driven by the cooling fan driver 170 to suck the warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment 150 through the cooling air suction inlet 180. Accordingly, the sucked warm air by the cooling fan 171 is heat exchanged while it is passing through the cooler 300 and discharged into the storage compartment 150 through the cooling air discharge outlet 190.

During driving the heat exchanger, the controller 200 checks whether the current temperature is changed by comparing it with the reference temperature (S250).

In the case that the current temperature still exceeds the reference temperature in the step S250, the controller 200 keeps the cooling control signal to repeatedly perform the steps S230 to S240.

Meanwhile, in the step S250, in the case that the current temperature is equal to or lower than the reference temperature, the controller 200 does not provide the cooling control signal to the heat exchanger, to thereby terminating the driving of the heat exchanger.

As described above, the present invention has an advantage that the warm air flown into the kimchi refrigerator when the door is opened is rapidly sucked and cooled down.

Further, the present invention has an advantage that the temperature of the storage compartment can be rapidly stabilized with the minimized compressor driving or without any compressor driving, since the flown warm air is rapidly cooled down as the door is opened.

Further, the present invention has an advantage that electric energy efficiency can be remarkably enhanced since the temperature change of the kimchi refrigerator when the door is opened can be controlled without driving the compressor.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. 

1. A cooling apparatus of a kimchi refrigerator having a storage compartment, comprising: a detector for detecting whether a door is opened or not; a timer for performing to count an opening time of a door when it is detected that the door is opened; a heat exchanger installed in the door for cooling down warm air flown into an upper part of the storage compartment to discharge the cooled air into the storage compartment; and a controller for calculating a driving time during which the heat exchanger is driven and providing a cooling control signal to the heart exchanger pursuant to the driving time when it is detected that the door is closed by the detector.
 2. The cooling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger includes a cooler for producing cool air to exchange the cool air with the warm air.
 3. The cooling apparatus of claim 2, wherein the heat exchanger further includes: a cooling fan for sucking the warm air from the storage compartment to discharge the cooled air that has been heat-exchanged in the cooler into the storage compartment; and a cooling fan driver for driving the cooling fan.
 4. The cooling apparatus of claim 2, wherein the cooler is a thermoelectric device.
 5. The cooling apparatus of claim 4, wherein the cooling control signal includes electrical current applied to the thermoelectric device.
 6. The cooling apparatus of claim 3, further comprising: a cool air suction inlet, formed in the door, for sucking the warm air from the storage compartment therethrough; a cooling air discharge outlet, formed in the door, for discharging the heat-exchanged cold air in the cooler into the storage compartment therethrough.
 7. The cooling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger includes a cold storage medium storing cooling air sucked from the storage compartment.
 8. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, wherein the cold storage medium includes ethylene glycol.
 9. A cooling apparatus of a kimchi refrigerator, comprising: a detector for detecting whether a door is opened or not; a temperature sensor for continuously detecting a current temperature in the upper part of the storage compartment when it is detected that the door is opened; a heat exchanger installed in the door for cooling down warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment to discharge the cooled air into the storage compartment; and a controller for providing a cooling control signal to the heat exchanger to drive it until the current temperature reach a predetermined temperature in the storage compartment when it is detected that the door is closed by the detector.
 10. The cooling apparatus of claim 9, wherein the heat exchanger includes a cooler for producing cool air to exchange the cool air with the warm air.
 11. The cooling apparatus of claim 10, wherein the heat exchanger further includes: a cooling fan for sucking the warm air from the storage compartment to discharging the cooled air that is heat-exchanged in the cooler into the storage compartment; and a cooling fan driver for driving the cooling fan.
 12. The cooling apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cooler is a thermoelectric device.
 13. The cooling apparatus of claim 12, wherein the cooling control signal includes electrical current applied to the thermoelectric device.
 14. The cooling apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: a cool air suction inlet, formed in the door, for sucking the warm air from the storage compartment; a cooling air discharge outlet, formed in the door, for discharging the heat-exchanged cold air in the cooler into the storage compartment.
 15. The cooling apparatus of claim 10, wherein the heat exchanger includes a cold storage medium storing cooling air sucked from the storage compartment.
 16. The cooling apparatus of claim 15, wherein the cold storage medium includes ethylene glycol.
 17. A cooling method of a kimchi refrigerator having a storage compartment, comprising: detecting whether a door is opened or not; performing to count an opening time of the door; calculating a driving time of a heat exchanger pursuant to the counted opening time; and driving the heat exchanger until the driving time is over when the door is closed so that warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment is cooled down and discharged into the storage compartment.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the driving time represents a time period needed to cool down the warm air to a level of a storage temperature of the storage compartment.
 19. A cooling method of a kimchi refrigerator having a storage compartment, comprising: detecting whether a door is opened or not; sensing a current temperature in the storage compartment; and driving a heat exchanger until the current temperature reaches a predetermined temperature when the door is closed so that warm air flown into the upper part of the storage compartment is cooled down and discharged into the storage compartment.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the predetermined temperature represents a reference temperature needed to maintain the storage compartment to a storage temperature thereof. 